Katy Girl Scout Takes Novel Approach to Supporting Krause

Katy Girl Scout Olivia Predmore (left) delivers some of the 200 books she collected for her Silver Award project to Trinity Charter School Principal Sandy Flores.

Cynthia Predmore’s father always told her she was blessed with talent, and it was her responsibility to share that talent with the world. Cynthia passed her father’s advice to her daughter, Olivia, who recently channeled it toward blessing the young women who call Upbring Krause Children’s Center home.

Olivia’s been to Krause several times with Cynthia, who served as a parent advocate for a young woman attending our onsite Trinity Charter School (TCS). When Olivia, who is a Katy Girl Scout, needed to complete a community service project as part of her Girl Scout Silver Award application, TCS was a natural choice.

“I love to read, especially young adult books like ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green,” Oliva said. “I want to try to get other girls to read more and enjoy it.”

So, Olivia worked with her father to refurbish two bookcases for the TCS library. The pair logged more than 50 hours cleaning, sanding, priming, filling in cracks and painting. As part of the project, Olivia also hosted a book donation drive and collected 200 books.

TCS Principal Sandy Flores, a self-described ferocious reader herself, said Olivia’s work will make a life-changing impact on our Krause girls.

“Reading helps the girls build their vocabularies, learn new things and grow into better communicators. Those skills translate to success not only in the classroom but also wherever their career paths take them,” Sandy said.

Olivia will start working toward her Girl Scout Gold Award this fall. In the meantime, she’ll keep finding ways to serve her community.

“My friends and I have fun volunteering together, and we also get to help people,” Olivia said.

We need your help

Upbring is on a mission to break the cycle of child abuse, and generous volunteers like Olivia are essential to our work.

“We could not function without volunteers,” Diane Covert, Upbring vice president of development, said. “A lot of the girls at Krause don’t have families, so it means the world to them when people want to spend time with them. And we always have things that need to be repaired around the center, so service projects like Olivia’s are so important to creating a warm, nurturing environment.”

At Upbring, we recognize that children enter the system at different stages of their lives and due to varying life events. Because the types of abuse and neglect vary among children, we are committed to raising the standards and addressing the entire spectrum.

Upbring will accomplish this through an innovative continuum of services and community partnerships, each tracking progress against markers of safety, life skills, education, health and vocation, all of which are critical to breaking the cycle of child abuse.

Strategic Partner - Foundation Communities

We know that foster care placement is 34 times higher for families experiencing homelessness than the general population of same aged children. We know that more than 1 in 5 youth who age out of foster care will become homeless after 18.

Foster families are eligible to apply for financial assistance (based on individual locations).

Join their team! The Y is hiring, with lots of flexible part-time opportunities!

Strategic Partner - Phoenix House

Health. We know that children of parents with substance abuse disorders are 3 times more likely to be abused and 4 timesmore likely to be neglected, making a holistic approach to treatment and recovery optionsthat incorporate family services essential. (Learn more about Phoenix House here.)

Outpatient treatment with individual, group and family counseling for teens struggling withdrug/alcohol abuse.

Strategic Partner - Dell Children's

Health. We know that experiencing multiple traumatic childhood events – being removed from family – and toxic stress are determinants of lifelong disparities in physical and mental health. Access to high-quality, trauma-informed, integrated health care is critical.(Learn more about Dell Children’s programs here)